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How To Get "Your World Delivered." For Less Money

When I got AT&T to lower my triple play U-verse services phone bill,  I was hoping for some type of discount, but I did not expect that much of a discount.  

I would have been thrilled with 10% or even   20%.

But now that they have shown what's left in margin, I am hoping I can help millions (not a misprint) of American consumers demand a 30 -40% savings.

I am not picking on AT&T.  Regardless of your service provider, call them up and demand a better offer.

AT&T  just happens to be my carrier.  They are a great company.  They deliver an amazingly cool service.  And their customer service has all-around been really good.  The next big thing is gonna be home-networking and I am thrilled to be part of the all-IP home revolution they are delivering into my home.

When I called AT&T to ask them to sharpen their pencil in order to save money on my triple-play services, I was hoping for some type of discount, but I did not expect them to be this nice. 

I would have been thrilled with 10% or ever 20% reduction.

But now that they have shown what's left in margin, I am hoping I can help millions (not a misprint) of American consumers demand a 30 -40% savings on their bill, not only with AT&T, but the other service providers like giants such as Verizon, Comcast, TimeWarner, CenturyTel on down to smaller independents such as those listed on page three of this report.

As the article in Telephony Magazine about my saving almost 50% on my triple play services points out, this is part of something I call the "walk-away economy." 

If the service company wants your business, tell them to sharpen their pencil or you'll "walk-away."

This does not always work, and be prepared to "walk-away."  You can always come back.

Here's some other strategies in trying to get a better deal: 

1.    If you get someone in a call center who does not give you what you want, hang up and call right back and try it again. You may get a more sympathetic or cooperative person.

2.    If you still don't get what you want, ask for a supervisor and tell them you want their email address or fax number so you can send them the Telephony Magazine story.

3.   If they won't or can't give you an email address or fax number, read them the story.  Tell them that if AT&T will give Alan in San Antonio a discount, then _______ (insert your name) in ______ (insert your city)  should get the same.  If you are with another carrier, then still use the story from the magazine to show them what the competition is doing.

4.   If they don't or won't play, then reduce your services, or just cut them off (maybe only for a month). 

Sure it will be painful for 30 days, but hey--- you could...

a. buy a book

b. clean out that closet you've been meaning to tend to

c.  heaven forbid, spend more time talking to your children

d.  go walking or hit the gym

e.  do some volunteer work over the holidays

5.   If the above is too painful, then call from a friends house who does not use AT&T (or the respective carrier you are with) and inquire about switching to AT&T (or the respective carrier) and if so, what is the best price they will give you.

If they give you a really great intro price that beats the price you are getting, get the person's name and then tell them you want that same price you are offering to a "new" customer. 

If they say you won't qualify because you are not a "new" customer, then tell them to cut your service, and then you'll be a "new" customer real soon.

NOTE:  AT&T's offer to me was only good for six months.  I will be calling AT&T back in month five of this offer to ask for a continuation.  Stay tuned for more.

Leave comments here or email me with your results:  alan at weinkrantz dot com. 

And when you call AT&T, tell them Alan from 3Screens sent you.

Photo by Alan Weinkrantz - shot on location in Dallas - (c) 2008

"Telephony Magazine" Expands Story on How I Got AT&T To Reduce My Triple Play Phone Bill By Almost 50%

"Telephony Magazine" expands the story on how I got AT&T to reduce my triple play U-verse services reduced by almost 50%.

Read all about it here.

2009 Predictions and Recommendations to AT&T....

As we approach the new year, you're going to start seeing all sort of "expert" predictions and pontifications from analysts and consultants in the telecom world about what is to come in 2009 with AT&T.

Here's my take, based on the point of view from a real live consumer.

My 2009 predictions and recommendations to AT&T, including a proposed milk shake meeting at the Olmos Soda Fountain in San Antonio or the Mecca Cafe in Dallas with Chairman & CEO, Randall Stephenson.

Read all about it here in my column appearing in the San Antonio Express News.

Need To Save Money on Your "Cable" / IPTV Bill? Here's Some Ways to Do It

Even though I am sure we are going to get through this financial mess, economic reality does set it and there are times when families or individuals need to cut back on their cable / IPTV bills.

If you decide to totally unplug from TV here are some other alternatives  Some are free. 

Some cost money.

Your mileage may vary. 

If you need to totally  unplug, then give it a try for a month and see if you can do something else, like reading!  Personally, I can see giving up TV, but not DSL for the family. 

If it's just you, then get a wireless aircard so you can have broadband access at home and wherever you go.

Here are some choices:

AppleTV:  I've got an AppleTV device and I really like it.  I find myself watching YouTube videos, including my own,  on my big screen (free) and renting movies from Apple, instead of from AT&T, as they are less expensive.  Also, you can port your movies for viewing on your computer or your iPhone for when you travel. 

Hulu.  I've noticed that I've started to watch The Daily Show on Hulu rather than on my big screen.  Sometimes I just need a break at work and want to see an episode, or part of an episode I missed.  Hulu's interface is great and easy to navigate.

Joost. The new and improved Joost is somewhat akin to Hulu.  In its opening pitch, they are even talk about "social stuff" so I supposed they are trying to help like minded viewer communities.

DailyMotion They bill themselves as being about finding new ways to see, share and engage your world through the power of online video. You can find - or upload - videos about your interests and hobbies, eyewitness accounts of recent news and distant places, and everything else from the strange to the spectacular.

Vudu.  You still have to buy the $299 set top box, but can rent movies for $1.99 each.  I guess it saves a trip to the video store and is less than renting a video from AT&T.

Netflix.  No web access required.  You get your videos in the mail.  Or, you can buy their $99 set top box from Roku and download their movies.

PrimeTimeRewind.com.  This is from my pal, Jeff Pulver, who's always out there on the next thing in disruption.  Jeff's site is really cool because, like its name, you can get free prime time shows and re-wind them.  Hate to miss Family Guy?  No problem, Jeff's got 'em.

These are just a few samples of the best of the best. 

If you are hunkering down, but still want to scale back on your monthly bill, try going to a less expensive package.  In the case of U-verse pricing, you can save money by going from the U400 to the U100 package. 

Packages start at $44 per month.

DVR is the Second Most Essential Household Technology

According to a survey by NDS, consumers worldwide rank the digital video recorder (DVR) as the second most essential household technology item they can’t live without, beaten only by the mobile phone.

Read more here.

AT&T Brings the Enterprise Network into the Home

As a contributing monthly columnist to the San Antonio Express News, I have a chance to rotate between the subjects of Social Media and the consumer's view of AT&T's three screen strategy.

In today's column, I wrote about my take on having a small enterprise network in my home.

You may read the piece here.

New Cisco IP Set Top Boxes Spotted at AT&T Store

Spotted in the wild:  Cisco's new IP Set Top Box for AT&T's U-verse.

I happened to be meandering in an AT&T store in San Antonio and spotted this display.

It's bird.  It's a plane.  No, it's a Cisco IPT V set top box for AT&T's U-verse offering.

“Mr. Watson -- come here -- I want to show you something way cool.” AT&T introduces HomeManager-- a practical and stylish telephony and information management hardware platform for the home

Last month’s deployment of AT&T’s U-verse Voice in my home represented a fundamental shift in the way I look at my residential telephony service.  And now, with today’s introduction of its HomeManager™ product offering, the phone company as we no longer know it, is extending the value chain in helping me integrate and manage all of my IP services in the home.

Read AT&T Press Release here.

Here's my review, shot in my home, here:

Overview
The AT&T HomeManager consists of three devices:  the HomeManager Frame, HomeManager Handset, and HomeManager Base.

The HomeManager Frame is a cordless touch screen device with a vivid 7 inch color display that provides easy access to your address book, as well as your call logs, voice mail, Yellow Pages and White pages, weather, news, email calendar digital photos and videos – and it’s a speaker phone.  It has the look and feel of a scaled down tablet PC and could be a hint of form factors to come, especially in light of Intel’s recent announcement of its Urban Max prototype displayed last month.

The HomeManager Handset is what it is- a handset but with the feel of something more like a Cisco, Nortel or Avaya office IP phone you see in the enterprise. 

The HomeManager Base which hooks into the Residential Gate way serves as a means to connect to the Frame and Handset.

First Impressions:
It looks really cool. Especially the HomeManager Frame.

It was easy to install. 

I was up and going in about 10 minutes.  The directions are easy to read and follow.

The HomeManager Frame got me thinking about how I consume and apply information.  In the case of Yellow Pages, the HomeManager  Frame is a great application – and a better application than having Yellow Pages on U-verse TV.  Frankly, Yellow Pages on U-verse TV is slow and cumbersome.  But on the HomeManager Frame it’s fast and easy to use.  Oh- by the way, I still use the paper version of the Yellow Pages which sits on a shelf in the kitchen.

While you can get your email on the HomeManager Frame, it’s sort of clunky and not as elegant as checking or composing email or texts on my iPhone.  The HomeManager Frame also comes with a pen stylus for tapping text instead of using your fingers.

The address book is a good idea, but you are out of luck in trying to sync it if you have an iPhone.  If you are a subscriber to the AT&T Mobile Backup Service, you can set your address book to automatically sync with your AT&T mobile phone address book on select phones.  (If you have an iPhone, I highly recommend the MobileMe service which syncs your PC/iPhone/and your .Me account in the cloud).

One thing that the HomeManager Frame does display – and can be your screen saver, is the weather.  This is a case where this type of device lends itself best for a certain type of information that I want to have at my disposal.

The lesson here is that there is no one device or communications platform that can be all things to all consumers.  The other lesson is that slowly but surely, AT&T is helping me build out a small-scale enterprise network in my home with service options that can be deployed on a variety of hardware platforms.  At the end of the day, it can be my TV, my PC, my wireless device, or now my Frame. 

Pricing:
The basic HomeManager offering is on sale starting today for $299.  Additional handsets are available for $69 each.  I wonder why AT&T doesn’t offer a $100 rebate if you sign up for U-verse, or at the very least, let you put 10 non-interest payments of $29 per month on your phone bill.

Availability:

You may purchase your HomeManager today in the following major AT&T markets:  Chicago, Atlanta, Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles.  I assume others will follow as they roll the product out.

Highly Recommended

I need to clarify my position on yesterday's post about AT&T's Total Home DVR.

Right now, Total Home DVR is a beta release to a limited number of customers, hence no official announcement. 

That's why it was not on the AT&T press center page.   

As AT&T did with U-verse in San Antonio when they first did the initial real world testing, they are doing likewise with Total Home. 

My take:  think of it as the enterprise is coming home.

You're gonna see some pretty cool and disruptive capabilities as time goes on. 

I don't like to speculate on things, but if you connect the dots, AT&T know how to connect the dots in enterprises, so they should be to replicate some of their skill sets, though on a smaller scale in my house.

Stay tuned.

How to Order A Pay-Per-View Event on U-verse

Wanna rent a special Pay-Per-View Event on U-verse?

Real easy.

• Press GUIDE on your AT&T remote control.  Go to Pay Per View Channel 102 by using the up / down browse arrows.
• Select the program you want to order and then press OK.  A  Program Info screen will appear showing you the event time and how much the event will cost.
• Press OK and if there are Parental Locks in place, you will need to enter your PIN.
• You will then be asked to confirm your order.  Just press OK and you're good to go..  Want to go to live TV, just press EXIT.
• Be sure to tune in to the event's channel at the scheduled starting time.  If you are late, you can't rewind what you missed.  (sort of like being on time to the movies).  However, unlike VOD, you can record your Pay Per View event to your DVR and watch the event at your convenience.